--- title: Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win description: Gov. Terry Branstad cites Cruz's opposition to renewable fuels as reason Iowans shouldn't vote for him canonical: https://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-19T20:20:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T20:12:36.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win og:description: Gov. Terry Branstad cites Cruz's opposition to renewable fuels as reason Iowans shouldn't vote for him. og:url: https://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde64d1750c8da0f9/6988797a5f570fd5a0b1f3ad/ted-cruz-nh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4776 og:image:height: 2687 og:image:alt: Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win twitter:description: Gov. Terry Branstad cites Cruz's opposition to renewable fuels as reason Iowans shouldn't vote for him. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde64d1750c8da0f9/6988797a5f570fd5a0b1f3ad/ted-cruz-nh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: FOX January GOP Debate in Under 4 minutes [Watch (HLS stream): FOX January GOP Debate in Under 4 minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/43Jv4tOR.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2016-01-15. GOP DEBATE 011416: The FOX January GOP Debate in Under 4 minutes_ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:12 PM UTCPublished: Jan 19, 2016 8:20 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stopMatt Rourke—AP by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:12 PM UTCPublished: Jan 19, 2016 8:20 PM UTC Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said Tuesday that he would not like to see Sen. Ted Cruz win the Iowa Caucus — and it’s all because of corn. Cruz is an opponent of setting requirements for transportation fuels to contain minimum levels of ethanol—which many in corn-producing Iowa support. Branstad, a Republican, told reporters at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit that [“it would be a big mistake for Iowa to support” Cruz](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2016/01/19/branstad-says-he-wants-cruz-defeated-iowa/79003590/), according to the Des Moines Register. When asked if he wants a Ted Cruz defeat in Iowa, Branstad answered “yes.” This may only help Cruz, who aggressively courted endorsements from many of Branstad’s political rivals, including Bob Vander Plaats and other social conservatives in the state who have occasionally proved to be troublesome for the governor. Cruz is [currently polling in second-place in Iowa](http://time.com/4179684/ted-cruz-christianity-godly/), according to an average calculated by Real Clear Politics, and a win in the early-state would mean momentum for the campaign going forward. “Ted Cruz is ahead right now. What we’re trying to do is educate the people in the state of Iowa. He is the biggest opponent of renewable fuels. He actually introduced a bill in 2013 to immediately eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Branstad said. “He’s heavily financed by Big Oil. So we think once Iowans realize that fact, they might find other things attractive but he could be very damaging to our state.” **Read More:** [_How Ted Cruz Built His Christian Connection_](http://time.com/4179684/ted-cruz-christianity-godly/) The Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, enjoys considerable support among Iowans—likely becaue ethanol is a major industry in the state. A December Iowa poll by the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics found 61 percent of likely Republican caucusgoer and 77% of likely Democratic caucusgoers supported the standard. Cruz, initially opposed to Renewable Fuel Standard, [has since tried to soften his opposition](http://time.com/3736403/iowa-agriculture-jeb-bush-ted-cruz/), calling for a phase out of the program over five years and citing his main concern as preventing the government from “picking winners and losers” in the energy industry. Rival and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump mocked Brandstad’s dismissal of Cruz on Twitter, where Cruz responded, saying Trump is just looking for support from the GOP establishment. [@realDonaldTrump](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) continues to seek Establishment support. Cartel wants more deals & cronyism; fears conservatives. — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) [January 19, 2016](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/689542550143811585?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/"},"headline":"Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win","datePublished":"2016-01-19T20:20:15.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T20:12:36.000Z","description":"Gov. 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